Media Server Manufacturer Wins in Court 98
whoever57 writes "The DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA) has lost its bid to shut down Kaleidescope, which manufactures media servers that can copy DVDs (along with decryption keys) to built in hard drives. The DVD CCA claimed that this violated the terms of the contracts that control DVD-related equipment because the DVD need not be physically present for payback. However, the
judge ruled against the DVD CCA on the narrow grounds that part of the specification of the Content Scrambling System was not part of the overall license agreement. This may open up the market for similar devices."
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I wouldn't be so sure about that... unlike CD ripping, which existed in iTunes long before the music store was opened, Apple is already pushing paid, DRM'd, movie downloads. From Apple's perspective, adding DVD ripping is not just unnecessary (because people accept iTunes as-is), but counterproductive (because it would cut into the iTunes store movie revenue).
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2) link to directions [justfuckinggoogleit.com] (second link on page)
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I am not an expert at search but it took me less than 1 minute to find the step by step directions.
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Just for ripping DVDs to the iPod, Handbrake (as another poster mentioned) is good, but Instant Handbrake (which is the same program, but with appropriate settings for the iPod hard-coded.
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Am I the only one who doesn't react to every story by thinking "But how does this relate to Apple?" It's lame and I'm sick of it, frankly.
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Typo (Score:5, Informative)
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playback, not payback (Score:3, Funny)
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Payback's a bitch (Score:4, Funny)
i thing their point is (Score:5, Funny)
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You're an anonymous coward. Bitch.
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Personally, the fact that those 10 people allegedly have no idea what a media server is less concerning than why you would come to a known tech site that contains "News for Nerds" in the motto and expect to find a discussion on the politics and posturing taking place in the Middle-East. But here I am feeding the trolls, when will I learn. Maybe we should put up some signs or something.
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and the kids can do all the "work" after the dvd is "uploaded".
Heck John Q Public will want one for Johnny junior (and sally).
never underestimate the power of 4 solid hours of "the Song that never ends" or Barney or blues clues or or
or for the folks without "dependent clauses" think of it TeraBytes of PRON or being able to do StarWars
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DMCA appears this manufacture has a legit license for the css key, and uses to decrypt from the hard drive. Granted the functionality would be identical if they ripped (except the device could then be cheaper per stored MB.)
or maybe it was done a couple years ago http://www.mythtv.org/ [mythtv.org]
or a quick search found http://mythic.tv/product_info.php?products_id=44 [mythic.tv] that
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They make a 500 carousel player now? I paid $349 for my 400 and found it doesn't like to play DVD-R media that plays fine in other players. It also doesn't flip disks. I back-fill the player as I watch disks, so it's always full.
I'm approaching 800 titles in my library. Disk count is much higher, considering how many of those titles are complete seasons and many are complete series runs. Television accounts for more than 50% of my rack.
I'd love to rip the
Re:Payback's a bitch (Score:4, Funny)
Priceless quote from the judge (Score:2, Funny)
LOLpwnz0r!!one!eleven
Odd argument. (Score:5, Insightful)
Assuming this is correct, the argument seems very weak, almost completely counter-intuitive:
"In closing arguments Coats warned that a ruling in favor of Kaleidescape "could open the flood gates to copycats. Prices could come down to that of a laptop for products that are not as elegant as Kaleidescape's but have the same basic functionality," Coats said."
So by ruling for the defendant, the judge would open the floodgates to innovation, increased competition and more jobs in the market?
Yeah, I can see how one must warn against a ruling with evil results such as those.
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The funny thing is, those products already exist, exactly as he described them: lower cost, not as elegant, but with the same basic functionality. Axonix [axonix.com], Xperinet [xperinet.com], and others have been doing the same thing as Kaleidescape, but not as expensively, not as slick, not as secure, and do you know ho
It's fairly simple... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm thrilled that the courts are slowly, every so slowly, starting to realize this. They need to look past the fact that it's a DVD and realize that its a collection of bits on a piece of plastic. I understand copyright and why it's not legal for me to distribute it to millions or to re-sell copies of it, but copyright is limited not absolute. Having a copyright on something does not mean that you get to dictate how and where it is used in perpetuity.
If I buy a piece of furniture and I want another one like it for another room, should it be illegal for me to pull out my tape measure, buy some wood, and build myself another one just like it?
If I buy a small print from a local artist to hang in my bedroom, should it be illegal for me to scan it, manipulate the colors, and print another copy that matches the decor in the guest room?
If I have a VHS tape that I'd like to preserve, should it be illegal for me to capture it, do a little noise reduction and clean-up on the video, and burn it to DVD?
And if I have a shelf of DVDs, should it be illegal to rip them and stick them on a server in my own home. Should it be illegal to provide the tools that allow me to do that? Of course not. It's no more illegal than to make the hammer I use to put together the copy of the chair.
-S
Re:It's fairly simple... (Score:5, Interesting)
If you like my chair and ask me if you can make a copy, should I refuse?
Should it be illegal for me to allow you to make the copy?
Does the existance of an autocarpenter make a difference?
We have a right to copy. The law of copyright is ment to be a deal.. we give up our right to copy and the creators get a short incentive to make productive works. I don't like this deal anymore.. I want out. Who's with me?
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Silly example? (Score:2)
For instance: if I buy a movie on tape, and later want to digitize and burn it on disc, no harm is done to anyone - so, no ethical problem.
This should be legal.
But if, say, the MPAA wanted to force me buying the movie again on dvd, based solely on the idea of copyright, this is immoral gouging.
They do this.
On the other hand, if the version on dvd is much better (clean sound, image, extras), I might want to buy it again, *if* the price is reasonable.
And this is a valid concept as well. This isn't a "silly example" it's common sense and exactly the kind of thing that the MPAA is trying to inhibit.
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Sure, when I was 15-16, I pirated tons of songs on napster. Then napster died, and I didn't pirate as much anymore. One day, I got sick of all the miscellaneous songs on my drive, and simply deleted them all. Over
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You have not gotten out as you are still part of the MPAA's profit system. Netflix buys DVD's from them, and they use your money to do it.
What you say is true, and reasonable, and I'm not suggesting it's worth NOT renting movies. Just that you are still part of their machine, and don't think otherwise.
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I'm not sure whether you are being sarcastic here. You as the owner wouldn't care maybe, but copying an object is covered by other intellectual-property laws besides copyright. Part of the construction of the chair could be patented, or the design of the chair could have a patent. I'm think patents don't apply for private not-for-profit, but you are certainly not allowed to sell the copy of the chair.
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I am sure the manufacturing industry will be ecstatic to learn of this new invention.
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Look at the value part of the product.
With a chair, the value part of the product is mainly in the physical materials used to make it, and the labour used to manufacture it. If one is having to reproduce a chair, they're basically having to pay (in money and also perhaps significant time) for the large majority of the value part of the product.
In digital/computerized products (a musical recording), the value part of the product is almost entirel
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Let's take it to a subject that people on
Creators of content
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Who the hell actually wants to be touring when they are in their 50s?
I don't especially want to be working in my 50s either but the chances are that I will be so I don't see why artists should have any special exemption and in any case lots of them seem quite happy to tour long into their 50s, 60s and 70s.
I don't have much time for artists who don't do much touring since they tend to be the kind of morons you see on Pop Idol or McFly and other assorted crap. Most of my favourite bands seem to be playing somewhere or other every day for months at a time.
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As for musicians, many here are advocating they tour for the rest of their natural lives in order to egg out a meager living. Who the hell actually wants to be touring when they are in their 50s?
Why do you believe that musicians should be exempted from life? I doubt that I'll still want to be an IT manager in my 50s, but I may be because of the same reason I am now - my family and I need money that is provided by my job. Being a touring musician is a job, and one that many people would love to do into their 50s. Musicians are somehow special and should be able to retire at 22 from one over-produced CD of teeny-pop trash?
Copyright isn't going away and most here do not call for a complete disma
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Well, we have a right to copy. However, what about the creators' rights?
If you actually look at the long history of artistry and creativity, and the comparatively short history of copyrights, you'd understand that creators basically have no rights to claim any sort of "ownership" of their creations. Copyright was a bargain we'd struck, granting them a limited monopoly on copying for a short time, to give them an incentive to create more. Point is, as soon as these works are shared, we all own them. They are artifacts of our common culture. Who owns the fairy tales recorded by
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I make a distinction between personal use and redistribution. Copying what you bought, for personal use, is fine with me, but I don't think redistribution is acceptable. I think that used to be well within line of what was granted through copyright, before it was turned into a monster.
This ease of copying thing is one reason I really don't bother making software. I can't afford to fund myself, I don't think anyone else will, an
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1 rental movies should be watermarked or otherwise indentifiable
2 a good number of the rental version are butchered and or are the basic version (you get the movie you might get all of the "extras" but..)
3 if you have a warrant served on your Media Server you should be able BY DEFINITION be able to match a physical disc with each virtual Disc or be able to prove that the vDisc was purchased as a download so if you have 2000 VDiscs you should be able to point to ~83 shelf feet of actu
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If nothing else, when do you serve that warrant you mentioned? When 2 discs show up on the Internet that were rented by the same person? Three? Five? Ten? At what point does it become statistically significant enough to burden someone with a warrant?
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I say, of course you are.
If those two times you want to watch the movie are 6 months apart, should you have to rent the movie for 6 months?
Of course not.
So why do you have to pay to watch the movie twice if you want to watch it 6 months after the first time you watched it when you don't have to pay twice if you want to watch it twice on the same day.
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So why do you have to pay to watch the movie twice if you want to watch it 6 months after the first time you watched it when you don't have to pay twice if you want to watch it twice on the same day.
Quite simply because you are (deliberately?) confusing the issue - you arent renting the movie for a set number of viewings, you are renting the movie for a set maximum period of time. You want to delay your viewing for 6 months, then you either rent it twice or rent it for a very long time.
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Movies i like, for instance Cars, Earth vs Flying Saucers, Enron, Used Cars, DS-9, 1st season of LOST (not the current crap after they killed off michelle) etc., these are movies you want to watch.
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S
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No. You wouldn't be infringing any copyrights either. The fact that it's a DIY will make it sufficiently different from the original in any case.
"If I buy a small print from a local artist to hang in my bedroom, should it be illegal for me to scan it, manipulate the colors, and print another copy that matches the de
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It's perfectly legal, moral and ethical to draw funny mustaches and horns and a goatee on the original, so long as you own it. Doing whatever mutilations you want to a copy would be even more so.
Is there a stupidity test required for posting on
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A physical work of art and its copyright are two separate entities that are routinely sold/licensed separately, and making a color-corrected copy would indeed be infringement.
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If I buy a small print from a local artist to hang in my bedroom, should it be illegal for me to scan it, manipulate the colors, and print another copy that matches the decor in the guest room?
Yes. This is exactly what copyright is about. You aren't limited to only hanging it on the wall that the artist approves of, but you are limited to not duplicating it. There is nothing evil about this and no one is trying to squeeze more money out of you, but you can't just go around coping anything that you want. You obviously aren't "making a backup" of the print, you are in fact duplicating it for your own benefit.
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If we really have just licenced the content, that's fine. But were can I take my old audio tapes and have them replaced with CDs for only the cost of the media? After all, I have a licence for the content and should only have to pay fo
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If I buy a piece of furniture and I want another one like it for another room, should it be illegal for me to pull out my tape measure, buy some wood, and build myself another one just like it?
Depends. Has the chair design been trademarked? Is the design "in the public domain?" Is the design obviou
Price point (Score:4, Informative)
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Their 3U server maxed out is 9TB (the extra HDs are 700$ each!) That works out to 1344 movies by their numbers.
You could easily fit 1344 movies in 4GB of space in H.264 with basically the same quality. And with the upcoming 1TB drives going for 400$, you could store all this for 1600$ total expense (or just a little more if you need a box to throw the disks into). From there it can be played on any net
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It's 16x16 pixel four color animated GIFs at one frame every five seconds. There's no audio, but you can read the subtitles if you want.
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B) The product line that used to start at $27k is now, I believe, around $23k, or it was a few months ago.
C) This isn't for Slashdot geeks who understand computers and codecs and TB hard drives and MythTV. This is for wealthy people who don't know how to edit a config file, who would pay $100,000 to have someone come into their home and
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The tide is turning (Score:2, Interesting)
Effectual copy protection? (Score:2, Insightful)
All that the content management stuff ever did was prevent playing the movies in a non approved player. Really insignificant, except to Linux users, because any DVD player at all would play
Bah. (Score:1)
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My own knowledge of The Kal (Score:1, Informative)
Multimedia tools such as the Kaleidescape have a market niche and should be permitted to exist. It is not a 'pirate tool' just a very convenient way to help handle huge collections, usually by professionals (or rich people).
The business I know using Kaleidescape have around 30 employees that need to watch specific scenes from a bank of 600 movies (and growing). Not